Recruiting Guru's opinion?

[Charleston Pony]

I'd be interested in hearing what Recruiting Guru has to say about our 1st two commitments. Are these guys I-A caliber talents who have just gone unnoticed by others? Again...I hope both guys have great senior seasons and several schools take notice and try (unsuccessfully) to lure them away from SMU.

[Recruiting Guru]

When I've seen film on Rhodes, one name keeps coming to mind: Drew Brees. Rhodes doesn't have a 70-yard bomb in his arm, but it's plenty strong enough, and very accurate on short- and mid-range passes. He can throw deep and will get more accurate with time and additional coaching. When he gets his feet set properly, he has the strength to through the hard sideline passes. He's a good overall passer, with the potential to get better. He also runs well. He's not going to make anyone forget Michael Vick or even Ramon Flanigan, but he is faster than he looks. Like Brees, he seems to have a feel for pressure and can step forward in the pocket to elude rushers. When he scrambles, he looks like he's almost out of control, but still often manages to get away from pressure and make plays.

(I haven't seen as much film of Gonzalez. I've seen one, and talked to a couple of guys who have seen him play in person.) At this point, he's more of a mauler than he is a technician, in part because he rarely lines up against someone his own size. He reminds me a little of Brad Kieschnick when he came out of high school. Gonzalez isn't one of those tall, almost-lanky guys who need to grow into his frame. Gonzalez is a barrel-chested guy with strong arms (although he certainly can - and will - get stronger.) He has decent power in his legs, which coupled with his size allows him to drive-block many defensive linemen. I haven't seen enough film to guage how well he moves on sweeps, but when stationary, his feet are good. He keeps his feet fairly wide and seems to have good balance, making him hard to move. Seems to have a great mentality for a lineman - in the game film I've seen, he doesn't appear to be content with merely blocking his man. Instead, he is able to block one guy, and then looks for another player to hit.

[DallasDiehard]

Great stuff, Guru!
Thanks.

[Otto]

Impressive report -- in part because Guru was honest enough to admit he hadn't seen a ton of film, scouted these guys in person, etc. But the info he gets from a film is really thorough. Keep it coming!

[Billy Joe]

Translation: projects at best.

[me@smu]

Of course they are projects...but should have plenty of time to mold them into something

[SoCal_Pony]

When I've seen film on Rhodes, one name keeps coming to mind: Drew Brees.

Apparently that name doesn’t come to mind with D1-A coaches since nobody offered him but SMU.

[Terry Webster]

He also seems to remind me a lot of Gino Guiduli, who was the quarterback at university of Cincinnati the past 4 years. He learned to play this offensive system pretty well and did a good job of it, leading UC to 3 bowl games I think.

[Big Easy Pony]

When I've seen film on Rhodes, one name keeps coming to mind: Drew Brees.

Apparently that name doesn’t come to mind with D1-A coaches since nobody offered him but SMU.

As I recall, Brees was something of an afterthought in his own recruiting year, too, because people got too hung up on the fact that he's not 6-foot-5. How many offers did Brees have other than Purdue?

Let's check in on this guy in three years and see if the comparison. I didn't see anything in Guru's report that said he'd play like Brees. I took it to mean they have similar bodies and similar playing styles.